


The Woman In The Rain

by SirenSky17



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Thanos, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Blood and Injury, Brands, Bucky Barnes Has Nightmares, Bucky's Vibranium arm, Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-09-30 12:37:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20447273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirenSky17/pseuds/SirenSky17
Summary: A mysterious young woman appears outside of Steve and Bucky's apartment building in the middle of the night. Stumbling through the freezing onslaught of rain, badly bleeding and on the verge of losing consciousness, darkness following her.  Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers, who happen to be awake, rush outside to help her. Who is she? Where did she come from? Most importantly, What happened to her?





	The Woman In The Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's nightmares are getting worse and he can't sleep, while Steve is trying to comfort him a strange woman appears in the rain. She is on the verge of death, bleeding out in the street. Steve and Bucky rush to aide her the best they can, given the severity of her condition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters
> 
> (Bucky POV)

Winter, Cold and unforgiving. It brings death with it. I suppose that's why they called me the Winter Soldier. I was a machine, a weapon, never a true person to _them_. I wish I could say that I was fixed, that winter left me, that i'm no longer broken. But that would be a lie. It's cold wet nights that bring this sharp reminder of who I once was, nights like tonight. The freezing rain is pouring down outside of Steve and I's apartment, spattering the light of the streetlamps. I watched the raindrops travel down the window in the dark and quiet of our living room. I pulled the plush throw closer around my shoulders, sinking into it's warmth, trying to shake off the latest nightmare. Trying to process the aftermath. Memories of my time with Hydra, the horrible things I did for them, swimming around in my mind. All those years, being put on ice when they didn't need me anymore. Torturing me to keep me obedient, wiping my memories of everything I ever knew, all to keep me more compliant. Sometimes the nightmares morph from reality into a much darker version of it, although it's hard to get much darker than reality. Tonight was one of those nights. Instead of hesitating, and saving Steve from drowning after he fell from the helicarrier, I beat him until his skull cracked under my fist and I saw the light leave his eyes. His kind, caring, loving blue eyes. The whole time, i'm screaming at myself in my head, trying to will myself to just _stop. _I see his lifeless face, a slight smile on it, as if he were happy I beat him to death. My hands soaked with his blood, droplets splattered across my face, drenching my clothes, slowly pooling beneath him. I could taste the coppery tang of it in my mouth. 

Feeling tears well up in my eyes, I quickly wipe them away hearing soft footsteps pad down the hallway from the bedroom. "Buck?" Steve softly questioned, "What are you doing up?"

Forcing a smile at him, I turn away from the window, he is standing there wearing just a pair of sweatpants slung low on his hips. I respond just as softly, "Couldn't sleep." He frowned, concern written all over his face. He approached me, groggily walking through the dark.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, voice slightly rough from sleep.

I let the smile fall, he could never be fooled. "Not really." Steve didn't say anything, just quietly moved to stand behind me. He gently brushed the throw off of me, Wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my naked shoulder before resting his chin on it. I knew he wanted me to tell him, but I just didn't have the heart to. I didn't even want to say any of it out loud to myself. Eventually Steve shifted, stepping in front of me, his arms still wound around my waist.

"I love you, you know that right?" Tears came back to my eyes, all I could see was his lifeless face from my dream. "Buck?" I couldn't hold back anymore, something deep inside of me breaking, how could I have done that if I love him as much as he loves me? I closed my eyes trying to will the build up of emotions away. I felt his warm hands on my face, trying to wipe the tears off my cheeks, trying to soothe me. "Bucky? What's wrong?" I couldn't speak, I just shook my head back and forth, trying to pull away. He wouldn't let me, tugging on my arms a little forcefully, pulling me towards him and wrapping his arms around me in an embrace. Our bodies pressed close together, he held on tightly. Not so tightly to be uncomfortable, but strong enough I couldn't escape him. He let me cry, whispering in my ear sweet loving things, doing his best to console me. "You're gonna be okay, I'm right here." My senses drowned in him; his skin, his voice, his smell, his warmth. My knees collapsed underneath me, Steve slowly lowering us to the floor. I felt his grip tighten, his body trembling with mine, still whispering in my ear but his voice was shaky now. "It's alright Buck, everything's alright." 

I started slowly coming back to myself, the emotional onslaught starting to ebb and fade away. As the tears slowly stopped, I tried to catch my breath and get my heart rate back to normal. I stayed in Steve's embrace for a little while, before finally sitting back and facing him. I felt ashamed when I realized he had been crying with me, the remnants of tears refusing to fall caught in his eyelashes. I opened my mouth before snapping it shut again, not quite sure what to say.

Steve spoke first, his voice rough but quiet, "I would ask if you're okay, but I already know the answer." Staring down at my hands in my lap, I clench my fists in frustration, knowing he's right. "Are you going to tell me what happened? Was it something I said?" His voice broke a little as he finished speaking.

I had to tell him now, if I didn't he would think it was something he had done. But I knew from the moment I started crying, I was going to have to tell him anyways. "It wasn't something you said Stevie, well, sort of but not really." I reached out and grasped his hand in my own flesh one, running my thumb across his knuckles."When you said you love me I-" I shut my mouth abruptly, searching for the right words to say. I looked up at him smiling sadly, "When you said you love me, it brought back to the surface what I did to you before and it also made me remember the nightmare I had tonight, they just seem to be getting worse instead of better. This time was a new one, a real bad one Stevie. It was like I was watching myself from the outside, only instead of me I was _him._" Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, I continued, "I killed you this time, _really _ killed you. We were on the helicarrier, it played out like normal until I had you under me. When you were trying to get me to remember and you refused to fight. This time I beat you to death, and you were smiling. Even after you died and were barely recognizable anymore, I could still make out your smile. It was just too much. I'm sitting here with you, and I _know _you're alive, but I can still taste your blood in my mouth." I exhaled a shaky breath, trying not to think of the blood on my hands. 

Steve leaned forward, his hands on me, one tangling in my hair the other bracing his weight on my right shoulder as he pulled himself into my lap. His mouth only a breath away from my own, he whispered, "Then let me help you forget." His warm lips melded with my own, sweet and slow, but passionate all the same. I quickly responded, one hand tangling in his blonde hair, my metal hand gripping his hip pulling him closer to me. I could feel him start to harden, his clothed length brushing against my own. I gasped at the sensation, Steve using the opportunity to bite at my bottom lip before running kisses along my jaw and down my neck, sucking a bit of sensitive skin into his mouth. I groaned, tilting my head and exposing my neck to him. He slowly worked his way back up, just before his lips connected with mine, he froze. 

I felt all the hair on the back of my neck stand up, the growing sense that something was very _wrong_ prominent in the atmosphere. Steve leaned back eyes wide, goosebumps raising on his skin. We untangled from each other, cautiously standing up, making our way towards the living room windows, an odd pull drawing me. The streetlamps were flickering, growing dimmer by the minute. "What the hell?" I said, blindly reaching for Steve. He gripped my hand, entwining our fingers. The sensation felt like a distant forgotten memory, a sense that I knew what this was, but couldn't quite grasp it. As the lights were almost completely dark, the silhouette of a woman came stumbling down the street alone. "Steve..." I trailed off, fear bubbling up in my chest. The lights went out completely as she reached the road, her terrified scream sounding out in the total blackness. I could feel Steve tense beside me, our grip on each other tightening. After a few minutes, the streetlamps suddenly came back on at full brightness, the woman's silhouette splayed out on the pavement. 

I was running towards the door and slamming it open before I even knew what I was doing, throwing myself over the banister of the stairs and falling two stories to the ground floor. I hit the ground running, not wasting any time, the impact reverberating through me. I pushed open the main doors in the lobby, sprinting into the freezing winter rain, a hundred questions on my mind. What was the sensation I felt? What caused it? The streetlights going out didn't help with the rising uncomfortable ache in my chest, something just felt so off about the whole situation, like a shadow on the edge of your vision. It was odd that the streets of Brooklyn were so quiet, not a car on the road or passerby. The only person out here was the woman. I didn't hesitate in dropping down beside her, my knees splashing in the water on the streets, quickly soaking through my sweats causing the material to stick to my skin.

As I reached my hand out to check for a pulse, I heard her voice, rough and wet as if she were choking on blood. "Please...help...me."

I leaned down closer to her, a barely there glimpse of her eyes, green and brilliant, "Of course." I said, what I hoped was a kind smile on my face. Relief washed over her face, her eyes closing and head lolling to the side, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth onto the street. "No." I whispered, "No no no." I pressed my fingers to her throat, feeling for a pulse. Her pulse was weak, barely there, faintly throbbing under my fingertips. I put both hands on either side of her face, "You gotta stay awake." Her eyes fluttered open again their verdant hue beautiful, but they were unfocused and glazed over with pain. " Come on, stay with me." 

I could hear Steve on the phone talking rapid-fire, now kneeling opposite me "We got a situation here Tony. I'll explain when you get here. Just hurry." He hung up his phone slipping it into the pocket of his sweats.

I kept my focus on the woman, voicing my confusion, "Why did you call Tony? We need an ambulance."

He sighed, physically moving my head so I could get a better view of the rest of her body. Steve softly said, "That's why I called Tony, love."

I felt dread rise in the pit of my stomach. I had been so focused on making sure she was alive and keeping her awake, I hadn't entirely noticed the state she was in. Following dread was a wave of horror that washed over me. Her black clothes were in tatters, exposing most of her damaged body. Blood was pooled under her, mixing with the rainwater, running from multiple stab wounds and deep gouging cut marks in her pale porcelain skin. She had bruises around her throat, as well as on her thighs and hips. The implication of what they were from obvious. I felt my heart almost stop completely when I saw the brand adorning her, just above her right hipbone. The brand was old and healed, the skin raised in the symbol of Hydra. A memory flashed in my mind briefly, my heart breaking for her. I looked right into her eyes again, talking to her directly, not at all hearing Tony land nearby in his suit. "You're a fighter. A really good one. Right now I need you to fight a little longer. I won't let them take you back, I promise. You're safe now." I didn't know if she heard me, but I certainly hoped she did. I felt Steve's hand on my shoulder, looking up I see Tony standing behind him ready to take her to the tower. Reluctantly I let go, moving away from her for Tony.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's taken care of old man." Tony picked her up wrapping a thick blanket around her, pulling her close making sure she isn't jostled too much. He flew down the street in the direction of the tower. I stared in the direction he went for a few moments, before Steve was lightly tugging on my arm, trying to nudge me in the direction of our apartment. The image of her broken body prominent in the forefront of my mind.

\--- 

After taking a hot shower and changing into dry clothes, Steve and I made our way to the tower, breaking a couple speed laws in our haste to get there. On our arrival, Tony met us in the lobby dressed in a black tank and sweats, not wasting any time filling us in on the situation. "Stephen is trying to fix her up right now, did you know her Barnes?"

Her long white-blonde hair, bloodied in my mind, her vibrant green eyes in sharp contrast to her pale skin and battered body. None of her features, though beautiful despite the gruesome state we found her in, didn't seem familiar. I shook my head, "I don't know her." I looked down at my hands, the vibranium one glinting in the artificial light of the tower. "I don't remember ever meeting anyone that resembles her. If I did, I would definitely remember." I glanced over at Steve uncertainly, his expression unreadable, I turned my attention back to Tony.

Tony sighed, sounding resigned, " Good, it might make this whole situation a little easier to stomach. I will have a more extensive list of what condition she is in when Stephen is done, as it stands it seems she was brutally stabbed multiple times. She lost forty percent of her blood. I'm not going to lie to you, it doesn't look good." I stepped further inside the tower, a sigh of my own escaping me, Tony frowned and rubbed his fingers against his temples, he looked as worn down as I felt. "Do you have any idea was she has a Hydra brand? The other Hydra members I've had the extreme displeasure of meeting, present company included, never had a brand like that. It's as if she was branded like some animal, it's disgusting." Tony stepped over a chair in the lobby and sunk down in it, rubbing his hands down his face in exasperation.

Steve spoke up, "How is she still alive after losing that much blood Tony? How is that even possible? No one can survive losing that much blood."

"_Imushchestvo._" The word out of my mouth before I had time to contemplate, sprung from the recesses of my subconscious.

Tony looked up at me in confusion and annoyance, Steve's expression more confused than annoyed. "For those of us who don't know the Hydra dictionary, care to elaborate?" 

"It means property, _Imushchestvo _means property." I said, a frown curving my mouth. Steve looked like he was going to be sick, abruptly collapsing into the chair next to Tony, trying to process the hard to swallow information. I continued on, "When they had me in their clutches, they didn't exactly watch their mouths around me. I overheard a lot of members talk about them. I don't particularly want to go into explicit detail over what they said, but I can tell you what little information I remember." I stood next to Steve, running my fingers through his hair and rubbing my hand gently up and down his upper back, trying the best I could to soothe him while I explained. "They would kidnap women that they found beautiful, brand them with Hydra's mark so they wouldn't forget what they were, and _use_ them however they pleased." I took a deep breath, taking a seat in between Steve and Tony, both were listening intently, deep set frowns adorning their faces. "I never physically saw what they did, not until today. I didn't think Hydra had anymore facilities left, I thought we had managed to finally cut off the last head. I guess I was wrong." I had my arm around Steve now, no longer sure if I was trying to soothe him or myself.

"How could they do something so vile?" Steve said, anger clear in his tone, "I knew that Hydra has done some _horrible_ things, but I never took them for mindless animals. There always seemed to be some twisted form of logic behind everything they did." He scoffed, abruptly standing up and shaking my arm off as he went. Without looking back at me at he simply said, "I'm going to bed." Before angrily stalking off towards our personal suite in the tower. Part of me longing to join him, the stronger part of me ultimately deciding to stay behind. I knew it would be better this time to let him work through his thoughts alone. When Steve was out of sight, Tony finally spoke up again. 

"You haven't told Cap any of this before, have you Barnes?" He said, sounding as worn out as I felt. I stayed silent, suddenly feeling all of the events of the night catch up to me, my solemn gaze locked on the floor. He sighed, "Come with me, I think you need a drink as much as I do." I opened my mouth to try and explain to him once again that alcohol didn't affect me, as much as I wish it did, but he cut me off obviously seeing the look of irritation cross my features, "Yeah, Yeah I know. All things helpful when feeling like shit don't affect me, blah, blah, blah. Just indulge me old man." I rolled my eyes at him but got up and followed him anyways, him leading me to the communal area of the tower. He walked over to the bar, pouring himself a glass of scotch. He picked up a bottle I didn't recognize, pulled out a second glass, pouring the same amount as his scotch. The liquid was clear, vodka I assume. Which I want to get upset that he would naturally assume I _want _vodka, but touched that he was trying to help, even if the liquor wouldn't work. He kicked back on one of the black leather sofa's, setting the second glass down on the coffee table, gesturing to it, imploring me to join him. I sat on the sofa opposite him, leaning over and grabbing the glass, wishing desperately after the night I've had that I could get drunk again. 

Tony leaned across the table holding his glass out, "Bottom's up old man." Clinking my glass against his, I tipped the glass up to my mouth downing the clear liquor in one go. As I set my glass down on the coffee table looking over at Tony, who was relaxed on the sofa leisurely sipping his own drink, I felt the sharp burn at the back of my throat. The kind of burn that makes your eyes water a little and clears your sinuses. Tony was sitting there, the asshole, just smugly sipping at his scotch with a smirk. 

"What the hell was that Tony?" I growled, not enjoying him obviously keeping what it was to himself. 

He chuckled quietly, seemingly proud of himself, "New invention of mine, just for you and Cap. It's an extremely concentrated alcohol, safe for super soldiers, a hospital visit for the rest of us." He shook his head in disbelief, "I didn't expect you to down the glass though, so you should be feeling that in no time." He finished the rest of his glass, setting it on the coffee table before standing up. He approached me, resting his hand on my shoulder, voice suddenly serious "I know you and I don't get along very well, but you are still one of us. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask and I will see what I can do okay? Enjoy that, I hope it helps."

I nodded, some semblance of a smile on my lips. Tony left, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he wandered off. After about five minutes my vision was slightly blurred around the edges. Whatever Tony had made was working. I leaned back, relaxing and enjoying the pleasant buzz. My previous nightmares forgotten in the fog of liquor, I allowed my mind to wander, finding images of white-blonde hair filter through. I found myself intrigued with her for reasons I didn't understand. As the alcohol burned it's way deeper into to my system, I let myself imagine what she might have been before _they_ got her. Was her skin truly a pale porcelain? Maybe she once worked outside, her skin sun-kissed and golden making her light blonde locks stand out even more starkly in contrast. Did she have freckles? It was impossible to tell, given the current circumstances. Did she have any scars that were earned instead of given? Did they have a good story behind them? 

Guilt suddenly stabbed through me as Steve drifted into my thoughts. I should be upstairs in the suite, curling around him and sleeping as peacefully has possible. I shouldn't be alone in the common area, my head getting more fuzzy as the minutes ticked by, thinking about someone else. Even though I harbored no romantic feelings towards her, at least none that I was aware of, I still felt guilt. I slowly stood from my seat, the room spinning slightly around me, causing me to stumble and bump my knee against the coffee table. Cursing under my breath, I worked my way over the the small bar, intent on finding the bottle of liquid magic and taking it up to the suite with me. Crouched behind the little bar, I began searching the bottles for the correct one, eventually finding an unlabeled bottle in the back left of the top shelf. Since it wasn't labeled, I had no idea if it was actually the right one. Hoping it was I stood up clutching it in my flesh hand by the neck of the bottle, I wanted Steve to enjoy it too if he was still awake by chance. I managed to stumble my way to the private elevator leading to the upper floors and living quarters, I took a deep breath as the elevator climbed to our floor, doing my best to keep my stomach from rebelling at the lurch of it stopping. 

The suite was dark, the only light streaming in from the floor to ceiling windows that lined the far wall. Silence greeted me as I entered the large bedroom, the moonlight illuminating Steve's peacefully sleeping form on the king bed. I tried my best to quietly set down the bottle on the side table near my side of the bed, failing when I accidentally bumped the alarm clock, it clanking against the wood floors. I cringed glancing at Steve to find him still sleeping soundly, thankful I didn't wake him, I clumsily stripped out of my clothes. I slid into the bed not wasting any time in snuggling with Steve, my vibranium arm slung over his naked waist and head resting on his warm muscled chest. I fell asleep breathing in his comforting scent of home. Instead of nightmares plaguing my sleep, I dreamed for what felt like the first time.

I dreamed of green eyes, beautiful and bright, pain and sorrow glittering behind their beauty. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This is the first fanfiction i've ever written and would love to hear what you think.  
I decided to finally write this to cure my Infinity War/Endgame depression, I hope someone else enjoys reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. This story will likely update around ever one to two weeks, i'm hoping. 
> 
> Next Chapter: "Awake"


End file.
